Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Gratitude Among the Rarest of Virtues
2 Kgs 5:14-17
Ps 98:1, 2-3, 3-4
2 Tm 2:8-13
Lk 17:11-19
Reflection:
Luke 17: 11-19
As Jesus continued his journey to Jerusalem, he traveled through Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten lepers met him. They stood at a distance from him and raised their voices, saying, "Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!" And when he saw them, he said, "Go show yourselves to the priests" As they were going they were cleansed. And one of them, realizing he had been healed, returned, glorifying God in a loud voice; and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. He was a Samaritan. Jesus said in reply, "Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine? Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?" Then he said to him, "Stand up and go; your faith has saved you."
Introductory Prayer: Lord, I believe in you; help me to believe more firmly and truly. Lord, I hope in you; may my trust in your mercy and provident hand in my life both grow. Lord, I love you; may I find new ways to love you above all else and my neighbor as myself. Lord, I also thank you for all your graces and benefits thus far in my life. Help me, a poor and weak sinner, to live my dignity as a child of God in the manner and depth you desire. Your will be done, nothing more, nothing less, and nothing else.
Petition: Lord, may I know what gratitude really is and live up to this call.
1. Jesus Shows Pity. It is easy to forget at times what it meant to be a leper in Jesus' time. Such a person had to separate himself from the community, live outside the town, and declare himself "unclean" when anyone approached him. According to the Jewish mentality of the time, illness was a punishment for sin. If you had leprosy, you were considered a terrible sinner. So, as miserable a state as leprosy was, worse still was the shame of it all. From here we understand better the sense of desperation and urgency in the lepers' Petition: "Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!" There is such thing as spiritual leprosy too, but Jesus can heal the sickness in our soul through the sacrament of confession. As Christians, we should look for this spiritual healing as ardently as the ten lepers looked to be healed of their bodily leprosy.
2. The Lepers Were Cleansed. Jesus felt obliged to perform the miracle of curing these ten lepers; they really believed he could do it. That is why Jesus so hastily tells them to go to the priest, as prescribed by the law, and have their return to health officially recognized. Thus their banishment and disgrace would end. However, in their burst of joy, nine of the cured ten forget to say, "Thank you." At first, it seems strange to us that they would omit this, after being transformed in one moment from utter misery to a clean bill of health. However, we often do the same; we forget to give thanks in the joy of a moment when someone has really helped us or resolved a major problem for us.
3. "Stand up and Go." It does occur to one leper, a foreigner, to return to thank Jesus; he is a Samaritan. Jews and Samaritans normally despised each other in Jesus' time, which probably makes his words of thanks to Jesus all the more remarkable. However, what really catches Jesus' attention is the fact that only one person comes back to express his words of gratitude. Doesn't this passage remind us of how rare the virtue of gratitude is in the human heart? The cured Samaritan's faith has saved him, and it wouldn't be rash of us to think that he used especially well the new gift of health the Lord had given him. Those who are really grateful for what they receive from God use more zealously and profitably the gifts they are given.
Dialogue with Christ: Lord Jesus, I realize now how many things I might take for granted in life. May this meditation really be a renewal in looking for spiritual healing in you and in using well all the talents and gifts you have given me.
Resolution: I will make a special effort to thank anyone who has assisted or served me in any way today or just recently.
Taken from Regnum Christi.org
No comments:
Post a Comment